Next week registration for the annual RWA Conference. I’m so excited RWA will be coming to my hometown this year. I thought I’d fill you in a bit on what to expect in beautiful San Antonio.

It is going to be HOT. It’s July in South Central Texas. We’ll probably start most mornings in the mid-70s and end in the upper 90s. Just be glad it’s not August. August for Texans is like January for northerners. We try not to go outside, and pray the power stays on.

Our public transportation system is not the best. You should be able to get around downtown okay, but if you’re wanting to get away from the center of town, it won’t be too easy. San Antonio spreads all over the place. If, for example, you want to go Sea World or Fiesta Texas, which are on the far north side of town, plan on driving at least half an hour.

There are a LOT of places to eat. A. Lot. I remember going to the Dallas conference in 2004 and not being able to find anything outside of the hotel. NOT a problem in San Antonio. You have everything from the Food Court in the mall to an assortment of restaurants on the Riverwalk to restaurants in South Town…you will NOT go hungry.

San Antonio is family-friendly. If you’re bringing the family, there are many options to entertain them while you’re at the conference!

Lots and lots of history makes San Antonio what it is. The Alamo, La Villita, El Mercado, The Menger Hotel–all of them have a story. That’s just off the top of my head!

You probably won’t encounter a lot of cowboys. Hurts, I know. Most of the cowboys are south or west of the city. You’ll probably see airmen and soldiers, but they’ll likely be very young, and with their moms and dads on a visit to the city.

The San Antonio River will probably make some of you laugh. By Texas standards, it is a river. By, say, Tennessee standards, it’s a creek.

There are a lot of places to visit that are a good day trip, if you come down early. The coast is a couple of hours, Fredericksburg an hour and a half to the north, outlet malls about an hour west.

We have a decent minor league baseball team, and they’ll have home games against Corpus Christi early in the week.

No matter what you like to drink, you can find a place to do it in San Antonio. The Tower, microbreweries, on the river–plenty of places to meet up for a cool drink and great scenery!